As to Charlotte airport, it's fine as long as you don't have delays. If by some chance you get stuck there overnight, it is the worst. The entire food court shuts down at (I think) 10pm, and remains closed until 6am. Once you go through security, you are stuck. I happened to us last year coming back from the USVI's, and was the single worst airport experience we have ever had. There is no comfortable place to relax, I ended up sleeping on the tile/concrete floor for six hours of the 12 hours that we were stuck there. It was not an enjoyable experience, to say the least. Otherwise, yeah it's okay as far as being manageable size.